Kasich vetoes Medicaid block, not abortion limits

Governor signs budget, rejecting 22 provisions

6:07 AM,
Jul. 1, 2013

Gov. John Kasich uses 24 pens to sign the state budget, as lawmakers, budget director Tim Keen and 4-year-old Felix Plouck look on. Felix, son of Tracy Plouck, director of the Department of Mental Health, dotted the 'i' in 'Kasich.'

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Gov. John Kasich Sunday night vetoed a provision in the two-year state budget that would have barred Ohio from preparing to expand Medicaid coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act.

The Republican governor supports expanding Medicaid coverage to include up to 366,000 uninsured, low-income Ohioans, though many lawmakers in his own party oppose it. Kasich's veto allows the state to be ready to accept federal money for the expansion Jan. 1, if the General Assembly at some point authorizes it. Discussions on that point continue.